A one-day HIV awareness seminar was held jointly by the Samaritan AIDS campaign group and Burma Social Welfare Association in Aizawl, capital of Mizoram.

Those who attended the seminar were representatives of the Christian Church while 60 representatives were from social welfare associations.

"The government of Myanmar cannot provide enough HIV drugs called anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for AIDS patients and most of the patients sleep on the floor as there are not enough beds available in some hospitals in Yangon" the vice-president of BSWA Ko Aung Naing Win said.

The cost of testing blood is also very high and most HIV patients cannot have their blood tested due to shortage of money," Mr. Aung Naing Win said.

John Thansanga, Project Manager of Samaritan Society of Mizoram said "We have not finished our discussion yet. We want to request every body to impart this kind of education to others as far as they can. This is the main purpose of our meeting."

In Mizoram state situated on the Indo-Myanmar border, blood tests were conducted on 36,551 people between 1990 and 2007. Among them, 1,994 were detected to be HIV Positive and 214 had AIDS. Around 136 persons were said to have died of AIDS in Mizoram between 1990-2007.

Since 2002, an increasing number of HIV virus infected people have been found in Kolosib and Champhai nearest to Myanmar where most Burmese workers and traders stay.

"The reason for the increase in the two places is that it is near the border and most workers visit the place although there are more HIV infected people in Aizawl city since it is more populated," said Lalhruaizela, Outreach Worker of Samaritan Society of Mizoram.

At the seminar Miss Lalzuiliani, Director of Aids Control Society of Mizoram also distributed leaflets in Burmese on AIDS awareness. She said, "Prevention is the best way of fighting AIDS," she said. – KNG.